Missed bus inspires winning transportation video

In an effort to get the public to help solve transportation problems as the city updates its Transportation System Plan, city officials launched a video contest asking the question: 'What do you like and what annoys you about traveling in Tualatin?'

Ryan Fidrick and his filmmaking partner Caroline Kietinska-Pyra answered the call, winning the contest. The duo were awarded the Transportation Spirit Award for their video 'Moving People.'

'One of the reasons I decided to do the video was that I missed the bus on a Sunday,' Fidrick said. 'It came at 6:44 (p.m.), and for some reason I thought that there was a later bus,' Fidrick said. 'It's a little early for (that to be) the last bus to get you home over the weekend. I had my bike with me, so I biked it at night, but I was a little upset about the short run time.

'If you miss your bus, there aren't too many options. You can call a friend, maybe call a cab, but that can be pricey.'

Fidrick is not alone. According to some of the people interviewed in the video, many are disappointed with the public transit hours offered in places south of Portland like Tualatin.

'There were so many things that I wanted to cover, and so many things that didn't end up going into the video,' Fidrick said, including small-ticket items like bus stops with missing I.D. numbers, difficult-to-read street signage and a lack of street lighting.

'There are a lot of little things, but traffic is the bigger problem in the whole picture,' he said.

Fidrick knows something about commuting. Sometimes he makes the trip from his home in Beaverton to the city of Tualatin for freelance work; other times he heads to Tualatin just to take advantage of its 'cozier' public library.

'I go to Tualatin at least five days a week. Most of that is on public transit,' he said. 'It's leaner, it's cleaner and it's actually more reliable. I have a terrible car,' he said.

Fidrick's suggestion for a more efficient traveling experience is to encourage commuters to utilize public transportation and encourage those in charge of transit schedules to increase hours of operation.

'Getting involved is terribly important,' he said. 'In these scenarios, it's a few people doing a lot. They spend all their days and hours trying to do so much, and I feel like if everyone just did a little bit that would be a tremendous help. They need to find out what they can do.'

Besides, Fidrick said traffic problems in Los Angeles, where he's from, are '10 times worse.'

'Oregon is really a shining star in the country as far as public transit or being green goes, so it's important not to let this slip away.'